Goodwill uses technology to help donors in Medford

With a New Year coming up quickly, many local residents are eager to make those last minute donations to charities to get their final tax deduction of the year.

To make things more convenient, Goodwill Industries, of Southern NJ & Philadelphia has installed computerized donation kiosks at all of its donation centers and unveiled state-of-the-art iDonate technology that enables donors to track their giving online, 24–7.

Goodwill Public Relations Manager Juli Lundberg said donating to Goodwill is simple: the donor pulls up, an attendant unloads the car, the donor puts his or her contact information into the kiosk as well as what was donated, and the donor gets a receipt.

The next time a donor comes with donations, the donor will only have to enter his or her phone number.

[caption id=”attachment_22834" align=”alignleft” width=”300" caption=”Goodwill Public Relations Manager Juli Lundberg demonstrates how to use a kiosk at Goodwill’s Medford location. With the adoption of I-Donate, donors can track their donations online all the time.”]

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And, with iDonate, at www.goodwillnj.org, the donor inputs his or her phone number and receives a report of all donations made. There is no need to keep receipts for the whole year.

Lundberg said the donation kiosks have been around for two years and iDonate launched in November.

“It’s just a huge convenience for donors to be able to see what they’ve done all year,” she said, noting many people have called at tax time looking for receipts.

Lundberg said donations are strong this year, especially in Medford.

“The community has just been so generous,” she said. “I think the visibility in Medford is just wonderful.”

The Mount Laurel site just opened this year and is slower than in Medford. However, Lundberg said, people from Marlton, Shamong, Tabernacle, Pemberton and Mount Holly all use the Medford location.

She said about 40,000 people have donated and used the kiosks this year alone.

“We need to give our donors just so much convenience, and so much great customer service they’ll come back and go out of their way,” Lundberg said.

“Donations are Goodwill’s lifeline to helping local residents with disabilities and disadvantages gain the job skills needed to become employed,” Goodwill President & CEO Mark Boyd said. “Beyond providing stellar customer service, we have invested in technology to ensure a pleasant donation experience at Goodwill.

“Investing in your community and preserving the environment while receiving a tax break has never been easier.”

Goodwill encourages donations of gently-used clothing, accessories, toys, household items, books, small electronics, computers and more. The mass collection and resale of donated items in Goodwill’s area retail stores fund job-training programs that help local residents with disabilities and disadvantages prepare for and secure competitive jobs in the community.

As a nonprofit, community-based organization, all donations to Goodwill are tax deductible, per IRS law.

Donors are encouraged to keep an itemized list of donations. The IRS allows a deduction for each item, but the donor determines each item’s value. Generally, an item’s value should be based on fair market value ­– what the item would sell for in a thrift store.

For more information on determining the value of donations, please visit www.irs.gov.

According to Boyd, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is the busiest time of year for donations.

“With New Year’s Eve falling on a Saturday this year, we expect a huge rush on Friday and Saturday,” Boyd said. “Goodwill’s donation centers will be staffed accordingly to provide donors with a pleasant experience.”

In addition to the following locations, Goodwill collection bins can be found in municipality public works yards throughout South and Central Jersey:

Aberdeen, 228 Route. 35

Atlantic City, 3711 Ventnor Ave.

Bayville, 333 Rte. 9 (Baywick Plaza)

Bellmawr, 125 N. Black Horse Pike

Bordentown, 594 Route 206

Cardiff, 6701 Black Horse Pike

Ewing, 1628 N. Olden Ave.

Cherry Hill, Route 561 & Browning Lane (Woodcrest Shopping Center)

Glassboro, Rte. 47. @ William Dalton Dr.

Hammonton, 200 White Horse Pike

Lumberton, 1626 Route 38,

Maple Shade, 2835 Route 73 S.

Medford, Hartford Rd. & Old Marlton Pike

Mount Laurel, 3111 Route 38 (Larchmont Commons Shopping Center)

Millville, 1418 High St.

Ocean, One North Mall Drive

Pennsauken, 5461 Route 70 W.

Stratford, 222 White Horse Pike

Williamstown, 1820 N. Black Horse Pike

Willingboro, 2177 Route 130 N.

Woodbury Heights, 832 Mantua Pike